, sometimes alternately spelled Syowa Station, is a Japanese permanent research station on
East Ongul Island
East Ongul Island is an island in the Flatvaer Islands off of Antarctica. It is long, lying immediately east of the northern part of Ongul Island at the east side of the entrance of Lutzow-Holm Bay.
East Ongul Island this island was original ...
in
Queen Maud Land
Queen Maud Land ( no, Dronning Maud Land) is a roughly region of Antarctica claimed by Norway as a dependent territory. It borders the claimed British Antarctic Territory 20° west and the Australian Antarctic Territory 45° east. In addi ...
,
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
. Built in 1957, Showa Station is named for the
era
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Comp ...
in the Japanese calendar during which it was established, the
Shōwa period
Shōwa may refer to:
* Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa
* Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu
Japanese eras
* Jōwa (Heian ...
.
Overview
![SYOWA STATION signboard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/SYOWA_STATION_signboard.jpg)
Showa Station serves as a research outpost for
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
,
meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...
,
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
and
earth sciences. It comprises over 60 separate buildings, large and small, including a 3-storey administration building, living quarters, power plant, sewage treatment facility, environmental science building, observatory, data processing facility, satellite building, ionospheric station, incinerator, earth science building, and
radiosonde
A radiosonde is a battery-powered telemetry instrument carried into the atmosphere usually by a weather balloon that measures various atmospheric parameters and transmits them by radio to a ground receiver. Modern radiosondes measure or calcula ...
station. Also present are fuel tanks, water storage, solar panels, a heliport, water retention dam, and radio transmitter.
PANSY Incoherent Scatter Radar
Showa station is home to the Program of the Antarctic Syowa Mesosphere–Stratosphere–Troposphere/Incoherent Scatter (PANSY)
incoherent scatter radar, which took its first measurements in 2017.
Legacy
1957 Expedition
The station was founded by the inaugural
Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition in 1957. This expedition was airlifted out after a storm made deploying the second team impossible in February 1958. In January 1959, the third team returned to the station and found that, of 15 sled dogs that had been left by the previous team, two,
Taro and Jiro, had survived.
Historic monument
A
cairn and
plaque
Plaque may refer to:
Commemorations or awards
* Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc.
* Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I
* Pl ...
at the station commemorate Shin Fukushima, a member of the 4th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition, who died in October 1960 while carrying out his duties. The cairn, which contains some of his
ashes, was erected on 11 January 1961 by his colleagues. It has been designated a
Historic Site or Monument (HSM 2) following a proposal by Japan to the
Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.
In popular culture
* Showa Station is the Antarctic destination of the protagonists of ''
A Place Further than the Universe
is an anime original television series produced by Madhouse. The series is directed by Atsuko Ishizuka, written by Jukki Hanada and features character designs by Takahiro Yoshimatsu. It aired in Japan between January and March 2018, and wa ...
'', a 2018 Japanese
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
series.
* The monster
Ghidorah is located on the base - called "Outpost 32" - in the 2019 film ''
Godzilla: King of the Monsters''
* Showa Station is depicted in the 1983 film ''
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
''.
Climate
The climate is classified as an
Ice cap climate
An ice cap climate is a polar climate where no mean monthly temperature exceeds . The climate covers areas in or near the high latitudes (65° latitude) to polar regions (70–90° north and south latitude), such as Antarctica, some of the northe ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: EF), since there are no months where the average temperature exceeds .
See also
*
List of Antarctic research stations
*
List of Antarctic field camps
Many Antarctic research stations support satellite field camps which are, in general, seasonal camps. The type of field camp can vary – some are permanent structures used during the annual Antarctic summer, whereas others are little more than te ...
*
List of airports in Antarctica
__TOC__
List
, 18/36Ice
, - valign=top
, Palmer SkiwayHeliport
,
, NZ12
,
, Anvers Island
,
, 01/19Snow
, - valign=top
, Patriot Hills Blue-Ice Runway
,
, SCPZ
,
, Ellsworth Mountains
,
, 24MIce
, - valign=top
, Pegasu ...
*
Asuka Station
is a railway station located in Asuka, Takaichi, Nara, Japan, on the Kintetsu Railway Yoshino Line.
Lines
* Kintetsu Railway
** Yoshino Line
Platforms and tracks
Surroundings
*
*Takamatsuzuka Tomb
*Ishibutai Kofun
*Oni no Manaita, On ...
*
Dome Fuji Station
*
Mizuho Station
is a railway station located in Tayoro-chō (多寄町), Shibetsu City, Kamikawa-shichō, Hokkaidō, and is operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company.
Lines serviced
* JR Hokkaidō
:*Sōya Main Line
The is a Japanese railway line oper ...
*''
Antarctica (1983 film)''
*''
A Place Further than the Universe
is an anime original television series produced by Madhouse. The series is directed by Atsuko Ishizuka, written by Jukki Hanada and features character designs by Takahiro Yoshimatsu. It aired in Japan between January and March 2018, and wa ...
''
References
External links
Official website National Institute of Polar ResearchSyowa Base Now!! (Japanese only)OpenStreetMapCOMNAP Antarctic FacilitiesCOMNAP Antarctic Facilities MapShowa Research Station Amateur Radio Station 8J1RL
{{Authority control
Outposts of Queen Maud Land
Japanese Antarctic Program
Buildings and structures completed in 1957
Prince Harald Coast
1957 establishments in Antarctica
Historic Sites and Monuments of Antarctica